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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26352529">substance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilight___renaissance/pseuds/twilight___renaissance'>twilight___renaissance</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TLOK One-Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bending (Avatar), Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, May/December Relationship, Night Terrors, Tags May Change</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:56:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,132</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26352529</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilight___renaissance/pseuds/twilight___renaissance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>mako comforts lin when she needs him</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lin Beifong/Mako</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TLOK One-Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915588</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>substance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i absolutely love this rare pair and am genuinely sad that there aren't more fics of it :(</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Even before his eyes were open, Mako could tell something was wrong. He couldn't hear anything from the other rooms of the apartment, couldn't smell anything different than his cologne mingling with Lin's perfume, but he could just <em>tell</em>. The room was dark when he finally opened his eyes, the moon somewhat illuminating the room through a sliver of an open curtain. He'd been staying at Lin's nearly every night ever since Amon and the Equalists were defeated, a deep-seated need to make sure that Lin was safe driving all of his decisions. Mako knew that she was more then capable of protecting herself, hell she would probably protect him more then he would be able to protect her if push came to shove, but he couldn't forgive himself for not being there when Amon took her bending away. Despite Korra being able to restore it relatively soon after, Mako knew that there had been both mental and physical reprocussions for Lin because of it. </p><p>Speaking of Lin, she was starting to move in Mako's grasp. At the beginning of their relationship, Lin had told Mako that cuddling was strictly off-limits but every night she ended up wrapping herself around him and was reluctant to let go in the morning. The blankets had somehow come off in the night, half of it on the floor while the other half was somewhat bunched up at Mako's feet while Lin's legs were haphazardly wrapped around Mako's, making it nearly impossible for him to move. She groaned and burrowed her head as far as it could go against Mako's chest, her hand not underneath him grabbing at his shirt with all of her strength. The nightmares had started in earnest, according to Lin, the night after Amon took her bending. She would never tell him what happened in the nightmares but always seemed worse for wear after them, even for days after as she refuses to sleep for a good twenty-four hours at least after she has one.</p><p>He looked down at her and the light from the moon gave her an almost ethereal glow, her hair and pale skin shone beneath it. He lifted his hand off of her waist and brought it to her face, softly cupping her cheek. She subconsciously leaned into his touch but remained asleep, a pinched expression on her face. Her lips were moving but no sound came out, leading Mako to believe that she was talking in her dream. Mako took the time to really look at his lover, to drink her in. While asleep, she looked decades younger then she was and, possibly, less stressed out and altogether angry at the world.</p><p>Despite the time they shared nearly every night in Lin's apartment, during the day they pretended to just be colleagues and nothing more. Neither of them wanted to deal with the scandal that would arise from their relationship being made public; the police chief dating a beat cop thirty years her junior? They'd be lucky if the rest of Team Avatar and Tenzin let them continue their relationship if they were to find out but the rest of Republic City would be relentless.  </p><p>Lin began to stir again, her face scrunching up even more and she began to weakly tug at Mako's shirt. A strangled sound left her mouth and she recoiled away from Mako as much as she could without disentangling their limbs. Mako stroked her cheekbone, resulting in her turning her face completely away from his hand and against his chest. Her legs were twitching around Mako's, somewhat untangling them just a little bit. Her breathing was coming out in short bursts, almost as if she was worn out from a long training period or chasing criminals around the city. </p><p>"Lin, babe, it's me. You're just having a bad dream" Mako whispered to her, looking at her with worry in his eyes. </p><p>Her breathing slowly started to level out and Mako could feel some of the tension leave her body. She turned her head so Mako could look her in the eyes and he didn't miss the tears that were beginning to fill them. Her face was the palest he'd ever seen it and he could see traces of fear still holding onto her features. He wordlessly pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head as he did so. Her arms wrapped around him and she clung to him as if he was her lifeline in a hurricane. </p><p>"Everything's gonna be okay" Mako whispered to her, his lips barely leaving the top of her head to do so. </p><p>Her entire body shuddered as the tears began to fall, wetting Mako's shirt in the process. He said nothing, allowing her to cry and he held her as she did. They laid like that for a while, Lin crying while Mako acted as her silent protector and rock. He slowly rubbed soothing circles onto her back and she clung to the back of his shirt as if her life, and Mako's, depended on it. Mako knew that Lin wasn't at the point yet where she was able to talk about what happened in her nightmares but he was glad to just be there to help her through them and when, or if, she's ready to talk about them he'll be there for that too. </p><p>Eventually, she peeled her head away from Mako's chest, resting her chin where her head had just been, and looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. He gave her a small smile, hardly receiving one in return. </p><p>"Don't tell anyone you saw me cry" Lin sniffles, a small yet unmistakable smile on her face. </p><p>"Of course not, Chief" Mako says with a small smirk, leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the forehead.</p><p>She rolls her eyes at him before turning her head away, looking up at the ceiling. His eyes remain on her, knowing that he couldn't allow himself to go back to sleep until he knew that she was okay enough to be on her own. Lin knew this, she knew their routine well enough now at this point and sighed after a few moments. </p><p>"Go back to sleep, Mako, I'll be fine" She says, not taking her eyes off of the ceiling. </p><p>"I can brew some coffee for you" Mako offered, knowing that she wouldn't be going back to sleep. </p><p>She turned her head back to look at him with a partial frown on her face. </p><p>"I think I can manage. Go back to bed" Lin says, leaning up enough to give him a peck on the cheek. </p><p>Mako reluctantly nodded and closed his eyes, the steady sound of Lin's breathing guiding him into a restless sleep. </p>
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